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The battle was about to begin, but ultimately, it never did. The Mizukage chose to let Haori and his group leave.
Or, maybe she should have regretted her carelessness and not brought enough underlings to hold the fort.
One person holding a sign that said "Silence," another holding a sign that said "Mighty," two columns of a hundred ninjas leading the way. That was the style of a Kage's outing. With only four people, it was completely the level of a village headman. There was no presence… although Mei Terumi was indeed a village headman.
Haori was, after all, a kind (?) person. With the mentality of not causing trouble, not making a fuss, and avoiding combat if possible, he obediently left the Land of Water with the three of them. This could be considered being deported by the Minister of Defense.
As Haori said, he had no reason to attack Mei Terumi, unless she actively created a reason. With the Three-Tails dead, he didn't have any meaning or reason to stay in the cold Land of Water.
So, since you wanted to separate, then separate we shall. Next, Haori was going to find a place to deal with Kimimaro's kekkei genkai problem.
Speaking of which, according to special settings and adjustments, had the Mizukage reached the marriageable age yet?
Haori didn't have any clear evidence or certainty about the hidden crisis in Kimimaro's body. And there weren't any bad omens about him either. But based on Haori's understanding and knowledge of kekkei genkai, he could make an experienced judgment that was eight or nine out of ten accurate: ignoring Shikotsumyaku or abusing this power could lead to unpredictable consequences.
But Haori wasn't sure what kind of consequences they would be, or even if they would really happen. It would be best to go to Tsunade and let the medical expert diagnose and judge. But the problem was that Haori and Tsunade had just separated. Who knew where she had run off to after leaving the Land of Crafts?
And Tsunade wasn't Haori's indescribable personal doctor. He couldn't possibly bother her with everything. If he appeared in front of Tsunade too often, although she wouldn't ignore him, if he interfered with her daily life, he might really get beaten up.
So, he could only deal with Kimimaro's kekkei genkai problem himself for now. Prevention was key.
Haori couldn't possibly eliminate the negative effects of Shikotsumyaku. He could only choose to suppress this power, reduce the number of times he used dangerous techniques, and try to avoid the risks they brought. He would make Kimimaro only use Shikotsumyaku when necessary.
After leaving the Land of Water, Haori needed a stable place to stay. So, he couldn't go to places like the Land of Lightning or the Land of Earth for now. So, he returned to the Land of Fire again.
Haori and his group arrived at the center of the Land of Fire. This was probably the most peaceful and prosperous place in the entire country… not Konoha, but the Daimyō's castle of the Land of Fire.
Theoretically, the Daimyō is the highest ruler of this country. The Land of Fire's constitution stipulates that the Daimyō has the power to appoint and dismiss the Hokage. But it's strange that since the establishment of the ninja village system, no Daimyō of the Land of Fire has ever dismissed any generation of Konoha Hokage.
"Why did you seal my power?" When it came to taking action, Kimimaro was still a little confused about Haori's actions. Shouldn't ninjas be stronger the better? Why was he being weakened in reverse?
At this time, Kimimaro was sitting cross-legged in the center of a room in a certain inn. With his body as the center, scattered seals were everywhere. Mirai and Haku could only be forced back to a corner of the room, watching their companion, who looked like a test subject, with curious eyes.
"I'm not sealing your power, but the part that's too strong and risky… Power that your body can't handle. It's more of a burden than power."
Haori was still drawing jutsu on Kimimaro's body, and he was also explaining it to him.
"The human body can't handle power that exceeds its limits. Your situation is different from Haku's. Although you both have kekkei genkai, Haku's is a change in chakra nature, while your kekkei genkai is a direct change in your body, affecting your bones. This ability to freely manipulate your bones is hard to say won't come with risks."
"Shikotsumyaku might lead to a person's weakening or even death."
As he spoke, for some reason, Haori thought of the bug-level character, Kyoukai Suigetsu…
"Because of what I said before, I don't want you to die early, so I'm taking precautions. For you… cherish life and stay away from bone-related things."
Haori naturally hoped that Kimimaro would live a long life. But considering the future, if he were to be a little more cruel, he hoped that Kimimaro could at least live for twenty years.
He wasn't trying to completely seal Kimimaro's power. Giving up a powerful "weapon" wasn't a wise choice. What he was doing was just adding a safety lock to the outside of the armory.
Listening to Haori, Kimimaro nodded.
He understood the general meaning. Although he hadn't felt any discomfort when using his ability, he was different from ordinary people. Kimimaro had known this for a long time.
Seeing that Kimimaro didn't object, Haori continued with his actions more smoothly:
In-Mō-Shi-Go-Mi-Yū-In-Mō-Shi
As Haori formed the hand seals, the scattered seals in the room quickly converged on Kimimaro's body, making him look like he was wearing black fishnet stockings.
Then, the seal disappeared into his skin and vanished, as if it had never existed.
The sealing jutsu Haori was using was the Sealing Evil Jutsu, but he had made some improvements. Its function was to restrict Kimimaro's chakra from flowing towards bone growth, but it didn't completely stop this change.
"How do you feel?" Haori said. He signaled that the seal was complete. This process was actually very fast.
Kimimaro stood up from the ground and clenched his fist, as if he was feeling the changes in his body. Then, he said to Haori, "I feel like something's missing…"
Although he couldn't say what the specific change was, Kimimaro did feel a sense of unprecedented ease.
As for the thing he said was missing, it definitely wasn't a rare quality like virtue. It was probably the burden he had been unconsciously bearing.
...
After nightfall, Mirai and the others went to bed early. After all, traveling was tiring, especially for children of this age.
Haori left the inn alone and walked down the streets of the Daimyō's castle under the night sky. The Daimyō's castle was a prosperous town. There was no lack of light at night. But Haori wasn't looking for anything in the bustling streets.
In the brightly lit streets, a sudden chill came. In a glance, Haori found the person he was looking for in a secluded alley.
"I've been waiting." As he spoke, he sat down on the single-legged stool next to the stall.
"No, I just finished my mission… Do you want some sake?"
In a place like the Daimyō's castle, Haori only had one acquaintance: Sarutobi Asma.
So, after arriving here, Haori naturally contacted him.
But it seemed that it wasn't easy for him to move freely. They had to work in three shifts to guard the Daimyō.
Haori shook his head and refused Asma's alcoholic beverage. Compared to the person next to him, who was already an old smoker at such a young age, Haori could be considered to have no bad habits.
But this was a night stall after all. Haori's answer made the owner a little resentful. I'm very confident in my mixed sake. Don't you know?
"I heard you haven't stayed in Konoha these past few years?"
Asma asked. It seemed that he was still paying attention to Konoha's affairs.
"Konoha? … I'm different from you. I can't say I haven't stayed in Konoha. It's just that I often leave for a while."
After meeting Asma again after several years, Haori had a strange feeling. Like it was a different world? Times had changed? That wasn't it. He should say "long time no see."
"I'm currently trying to complete an 80-day world tour. And I'm also looking for something along the way."
"Looking for something?"
Haori didn't give a detailed answer to Asma's question. His pain from traveling through a thousand years, only seeking an outcome, was something too complex and profound to explain to others.
"What about you? When are you going back to Konoha?"
"Me?"
Now it was Asma's turn to be speechless.
"Speaking of which, is Kurenai eighteen or nineteen now? That's a very dangerous age for girls… It's easy to be targeted by single men."
Haori's words almost choked Asma, who was stuffing food into his mouth.
It wasn't a good habit to like poking people's sore spots. But sometimes, Haori was used to doing that, especially when he was facing people he was familiar with.
For Asma, he was the kind of person who, if he didn't talk nonsense, everyone could still be good friends.
"Cough!"
Asma picked up his glass of sake. He was about to say something, but he realized that the glass was already empty.
"Boss, another one."
Back then, when he chose to leave, she didn't understand. Leaving was to be persuaded… But now, he could only hope for the outline she left behind to guide him through the night.
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